Chapter 268: Children Should Be Happy
The boy looked a bit disappointed after hearing Jiang Che’s words, because he could no longer bear the excruciating pain in his feet. The sharp spikes had initially pierced his calves, and over time, they gradually climbed upwards.
He didn’t care about these pains, but if they crept up any higher, he would no longer be able to carry his little sister on his back.
As soon as he set foot on the ground, the pain would return—the spikes would pierce through, draining his blood.
But if he carried someone, he had to endure double the pain.
"Why don’t you put her down?" Jiang Che pointed to the girl behind him, frowning.
He could understand the boy’s desire to protect his own sister, but he couldn’t accept that this girl seemed to feel so entitled to his protection.
In his view, all feelings should be reciprocated, no matter what kind they were.
"Because my sister’s legs are disabled. She can’t walk." The boy shook his head. Behind him, the girl poked out her head, eyes full of guilt.
She had tried to make her brother put her down, but her lower body had long since lost feeling. If he set her down, those spikes would go straight through her stomach.
Her lifeless legs weren’t the main target of the spikes.
The boy carried her just to keep her alive.
Jiang Che was taken aback; only then did he notice the girl’s slightly drooping legs, swaying helplessly.
"Is there anything else you need in your dungeon?" The boy looked anxiously at Jiang Che. No matter how hard Jiang Che’s dungeon was, he couldn’t stay here at Leng Feng’s any longer.
No other territories took outsiders. If he left Leng Feng’s place, he’d die to the Dark Forest’s corruption.
"I can do anything, and so can my sister." For him and his sister, as long as there was a place to survive, they’d be willing to be dogs or pigs, whatever it took.
"What I mean is, I don’t need dogs in my place, but I do need people." Jiang Che looked at the two of them.
"Let’s go. Just know that once you’re there, you’ll have to work." Jiang Che walked up to the boy and lifted the girl off his back.
The boy didn’t resist at all. Even as Jiang Che took his sister, his hands stayed in the posture of carrying someone on his back.
The moment Jiang Che took the girl away, the spikes instantly shrank downward, returning to their position beneath the boy’s feet.
He hurried after Jiang Che, hands still behind his back.
Only then did Jiang Che notice that his hands seemed locked in place, stiff, as if he couldn’t bring them forward.
Seeing Jiang Che looking at him, he immediately shook his head. "It’s just a little numb, I can work! I can do twice the work!" He knew exactly what he wanted—no matter how ruthless Jiang Che might be, his territory was relatively safe, without all these harmful things.
Jiang Che looked away. The boy’s hands were already rigid, mechanically positioned behind his back.
The girl in his arms was very light, but the boy was only an ordinary person. Carrying her for so long, his hands were inevitably numb.
He just needed some time to rest.
"You don’t have to work, but you can have a better life if you do." Jiang Che began to explain the rules Xiong Jie had set up before.
You could live without working, but if you wanted to get stronger, if you wanted to earn Energy Beads, you’d have to work for them.
The boy followed behind Jiang Che, listening as he explained the rules for living in the territory.
He listened very carefully, worried he’d break some taboo and anger Jiang Che.
After all, from the information he had, Jiang Che was the embodiment of capricious moods.
But for his sister’s sake, he had to leave Leng Feng’s territory.
Leng Feng’s place was fine, and he didn’t care what he might face afterwards, but he didn’t want his sister to die.
But the more he listened to Jiang Che, the more off things felt.
Jiang Che hadn’t mentioned any dungeon rules at all. On the contrary, he only talked about how to live better inside the dungeon.
For example, as long as your group performed well, you’d get relatively better food allocated to you.
That made sense to him, since in the apocalypse, food was limited.
He was just worried that, as an ordinary person with limited work capacity, he wouldn’t get much even in a group.
But the more Jiang Che spoke, the more confused he felt.
Because according to what Jiang Che said, even if you didn’t work, you could still have decent food. If you did work, you could get more, better things—and even earn Energy Beads.
He didn’t dare go into the dungeons, never dared.
Not that he was afraid to die—he just feared if he was gone, no one would look after his sister.
Even though there were special aid centers for humans outside, he just couldn’t bring himself to entrust his sister to them.
If his sister’s legs worked, he would go.
But with her disability, he had to stay by her side.
When the supernatural came, he tried everything to avoid it. He’d also been among the first to notice that before the supernatural strike, some people would vanish as a sign.
He’d picked up clues: long before a bizarre dungeon appeared, there would be warnings.
If you wanted to try the dungeon, come in; if not, leave.
He followed this information, taking his sister and dodging many supernatural dungeons.
But over time, he found that without power, you couldn’t survive a single step.
Yet more and more, he found himself unable to break away.
"In your place, I can get stronger just by working?" He looked at Jiang Che, incredulous.
No other Lord had ever offered such a thing.
"Is the work really hard? I can do anything!" He’d thought it through—even if he risked his life, he needed to work hard.
Because even if he died, his sister could still get supplies and live well in Jiang Che’s territory.
Before, he’d only thought about protecting his sister and running away with her.
Later, he realized there was no escaping these things.
"It’s not that hard, really. You’ll be assigned work that matches your skills, just go all out with your group. I don’t even know what everyone’s jobs are, myself," Jiang Che shook his head. He only knew there were lots of different teams now, and everyone was working hard for a better life.
"Brother, is there any work I can do?" Jiang Che had the girl on his back now.
The girl was very thin, short too—looked malnourished.
Judging from her height, she was just a little taller than Tuantuan.
Nurse Ya’s words sounded in his ears again: if you meet other children out there, you must help them.
Only then, when your own child is in danger, will others help you.
You must show kindness first to receive kindness in return.
He looked at the little girl, only seeing her as a daughter like Tuantuan.
"Children don’t need to work; that’s for adults." Jiang Che turned around. I have a daughter, too—she looks about your age.
"You can play with her when the time comes."
"Children should spend their childhood happy." He led the boy toward his own territory.
Beside him, the two instantly fell silent.
They looked at each other, full of bitter smiles. Now, could they really have a happy childhood?